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If you had asked me yesterday, I probably would have said no. I would have said that, even though it's true that black men were referred to as "bucks" on Southern slave plantations, the phrase "young buck" probably comes from the behavior of young male deer. Who are notoriously randy, full of themselves, and constantly spoiling for a fight and doing stupid things.

To confuse the issue, the phrase "young buck" has been taken up by the rap world, as a friend rightly pointed out to me. Among other things, it is the stage name of rap artist David Darnell Brown. But this raises the question for me, whether it's a rap thing like "ridin dirty," or a rap thing like "re-appropriating use of the N-word."

Even if the phrase "young buck" doesn't have racist origins, it's definitely a phrase that I would call "racism adjacent." Current usage blurs the line between its meaning, and it can certainly serve as a dog whistle to other racists. At the very least, I think one would be well advised to use caution when trotting this one out. I certainly wouldn't use it to describe a young black man.

Of course, if you say something like "this phrase is racist-ish and should be retired," people get all outraged about it. White people, specifically. But I feel obliged to point out that there are about a million billion word combinations in English that are still available for your use. Phrases that DON'T raise the orange "possibly racist" flag. Why not play it safe, and use one of those instead? Better safe than sorry, right?